The Mountain Goat 10 miler re-cap

I don’t get my obsession with this race, but it’s there, so I just accept it. And after months of runs/thoughts and dedication to making 2014’s Mountain Goat 10 miler my best ever. I finished the race with a 25 minute PR! (Sorry on instagram when I was trying to do math after running 10 miles I thought it was 30…not so, my apologizes.)

It wasn’t a smooth race for me in fact there were even some tears at the end but it was the best I’ve ever done.

The day started off cold, windy and rainy. A perfect combination when you want to run right? Blah I was hoping for 50-60 degrees with some sun. Instead we got 45-50 with clouds and a little rain for the last mile. Oh well mother nature is kind of giving us all the bird this year anyway so I should have expected nothing less.

I did however get a great parking spot! I got suited up, gulped down my chia squeeze, and headed out. I really wish I would have brought along my compression socks but at the last-minute I decided to run without them. In hindsight I would have liked to have them.

I made my way to the start area and was a little taken back by how cold it was out. I watched the 3k race take off and watched the top finishers all while looking for some people I knew were also going to be running the 10 miler. I’m not sure how I manage to do it every year but again I saw NO ONE. Side note I would make a terrible spy I’m not great at picking people out of a crowd.

I ended up camping out by a building that acted as a windblock but felt when the song #Selfie came on it was completely ok to snap one pre-race selfie.

And soon the race was starting. The first 3 miles felt good, they may have a been a little faster for me than they should have been but good. My sinuses were starting to clear out which was annoying but I was hoping it would be a quickly resolved issue. Not so.

Mile 4 was good, mile 5 was even dare I say fun, took my coat off and found a nice groove, my music picked up it was nice.The sun may have even broken out of the clouds for a minute at that point. About mile 6 though my GPS was sooo off it was annoying me to even listen to it. By the mile 6 marker my GPS was reading 6.25. I’m guessing the cloudiness of the day had a lot to do with it but it threw me off. (At the end my GPS clocked 10.83 miles not 10)

Mile 7-8 was rough, and by rough I mean there was serious walking going on. My ears started to throb and my nose was like a nonstop faucet. Stupid sinus infection. I think I knew it was bad when a lady stopped and asked me if I was alright…that’s NEVER a good sign during a race. I was struggling.

At this point I ran into a friend and she gave me a hug which pushed me through the rest of the race. I honestly don’t remember miles 8-9. I just kept repeating beat the goat, beat the goat. Sick or not I wasn’t going to get another shot to PR this thing this year and I wanted it.

At Mile 9, I knew all I had to do was finish…even if I crawled to the finish line I was going to PR! I was choking back some tears at for the last .5 miles as I realized my hopes of a sub 1:45 were gone, and I should have pushed harder through miles 7 & 8.

In my mind I was hoping for a sub 1:45 but I ended up finishing at 1:47 flat which for me is 25 minutes faster than the last time I ran this race so BOOM!

I learned today, I like a little sunshine when I run, I should ALWAYS opt for the compression socks and no matter what the time on the clock, I’ve made some pretty serious steps forward in my overall fitness since 2011.

It wasn’t the run I had planned in my head but that at the end of the day how often can you can you PR-ed a race by 25 minutes? I’m guessing rarely… so I’m enjoying the victory. Next year I’ll shoot for those consistent 9 minute miles for all 10 miles not just the first 5! 😉

Comments

Woot!! Awesome job Renee! The goat is a super challenging course and finishing it is an amazing feeling! I haven’t been able to beat my best time which was the first time I ran it and had no clue what to expect (I also wore a tie dye cotton tee) you crushed that race! Enjoy a few days of recovery and get yourself a massage you deserve it!!

Hi Nicki this one is on Corporal Welch Drive(?) I think, it’s on Onondaga Hill. Did you go to The Mission? It looks like a big church, That’s right in downtown and has great food. And if you ever are in town check out Alto Cinco as well. Syracuse does have some great Mexican food spots.

You are right then, That’s Boom Boom Mex Mex where we went! It’s outside of Marcellus! Awesome we love it there but it’s only open in the spring/summer. Best food and I don’t care how long the line is I will wait

I’m sorry I missed you too Uncle Ed, you guys were on my list of people to find! I will admit I didn’t stick around much after I was done. I headed right back home because I was starving It looks like you had a FANTASTIC run! You’re FAST! What are you next runs? I’ve got some 5k’s for the summer RideandRunfortheResuce.org, Paige’s Butterfly and The ZeroProstateCancerRun.

Renee, my upcoming races are Swamp Rat 10k in Brewerton, 6/14, doing the Half-Marathon at the Turning Stone, 8/25, Run for Recovery 10k in Watertown 9/6. I haven’t signed up yet but I like to do the Burn Run 10k in East Syracuse in November , did it last year. They also have a 5k. You should think about doing this run, great benefit and the best post race food We have had so far! I probably will sign up for a few more, I really enjoy it. Funny a couple years ago people would ask me if I would ever run, I would always laugh and say I hate running. But then last May I signed up for a Mud- obstacle run, so I thought I better run a little bit and fell in love with running, go figure,lol! ….We’ll Take Care, hope to see out at event this summer, Uncle Ed.

Congrats on your amazing PR. That is so awesome! Hope you are enjoying some rest this week. I am running a 10 miler in a few weeks and need to start adding on some miles. I do love that distance though!

Wow! Great job with the Goat and taking 25 minutes off of your time…that is AMAZING! I was actually in Cuse following the race and I know how crappy and cold the weather was, can’t even imagine running in it. Congrats on the run, it is really inspiring and that taco salad looks like the perfect reward!

Now that is the way to bust your PR, Renee! Way to go. And on the heels of being sick, yet. You got the Goat. the Goat did not get you! Congratulations. My daughter ran the 3K and her comment to me, her dad that loves to walk was, “it could have been warmer.” I see that you agree, but took off your coat when the sun came out. Nice job.